Stolen Treasure
by JJScottishGirl
Summary: Sacred Native American treasures have been stolen from an archaeological dig in SW Texas! Can Gage and Sydney (and Trivette and Walker) find out who's behind it before more of these ancient relics are taken? Complete story.
1. Chapter 1

"Guys, there's a problem." Ranger Cordell Walker hung up the phone at his desk in Company B, his face grim.

"What's the matter Walker?" his partner Trivette queried as he stood up.

"Yeah, what's up?" Gage asked, moving towards Walker's desk followed by Sydney who put down the paperwork she had in her hand as soon as she saw the look on Walker's face.

"There's just been a report of the looting of Native American artefacts from an archaeological dig site near the Mexican border. A number of significant finds have been lost."

"That's awful." Syd commented.

"Yeah." Walker nodded. "And it's getting worse - members of the nearby reservation are starting to form a vigilante group to track down the suspected perpetrators."

"What can we do?" Gage inquired, as concerned as his partner.

"I've just gotten clearance for you three to go to the site and investigate the robberies. You will be joined by members of Company E and local law enforcement when you arrive."

"What about you? What are you doing?" Trivette asked, immediately picking up on the fact that his partner had excluded himself from the plans.

"I've been asked to go straight to the reservation and liaise with the chief, see how we can control the vigilantes while ensuring that the connection they feel to these ancient artefacts is respected. As soon as I call Alex I'm being flown to the reservation, just outside of Sanderson. I'll meet up with you guys at the archaeological site later."

"Okay, we're on it." Trivette, Sydney and Gage quickly gathered their belongings.

"Who's car are you taking?" Walker called to them as the group reached the door.

"Mine." All three of them answered.

"Alright, let's flip for it." Sydney relented pulling out a coin, she hated not driving as much as the other two.

"Heads." Gage called.

"Tails." Trivette countered.

Closing her eyes as the coin landed on her hand and before she looked Syd called out "Heads" as well.

They looked at the coin.

"Tails - I win!" Trivette practically twirled around in glee.

Syd and Gage looked at each other and then shouted "Shotgun!"

"Oooh, tough decision." Trivette spoke as they got onto the elevator. "But I think I heard Sydney say it first."

"Yes!" Syd raised her hand in a balled fist, and then looked over pitifully at her partner. "Sorry Gage."

"I'll wrestle you for it." He looked hopeful as they reached the basement level and stepped out into the underground parking.

"No way." Syd smiled. "Nice try."

"Afraid of a little competition?"

"No...I just don't want to travel all this way in a closed car with someone who is sweaty and smelly."

"I don't smell!" Gage exclaimed, lifting his arm to check as they approached Trivette's car.

"Maybe not now, but believe me you would if you wrestled with me." Syd stepped close to her partner and lowered her voice, almost seductively. He took a step back when she spoke and Syd could swear that Gage almost blushed. He played that game with her sometimes; today it was her turn to disarm him with that trick.

"Well, if you want it that badly I'm not going to fight you for it. Today." Gage managed to choke out.

"It's going to be a long drive." Trivette commented as he listened to the good-natured bickering between the two younger Rangers. "A very long drive."

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When they arrived in Sanderson, a lonely little town in the middle of Terrell County, it was getting late.

"Let's find somewhere to stay and then we can head out to the site." Trivette said as they drove down the main street.

"There's not much here." Syd commented, looked around. "It sure isn't Dallas."

"Well, no Syd. Dallas isn't the Cactus Capital of Texas. Hey, look over there!" Gage called out. "There's a motel. It's the only one I've seen with a Vacancy sign."

"Good enough." Trivette responded, pulling into the dusty parking lot of the rather run-down looking establishment.

The three Rangers stepped into the tiny office, glad to stretch their legs. It had been a long drive since their last stop in San Antonio. There was a bell on the door which had rung when the entered the room but a blaring TV in the attached room was so loud that no-one came to greet them.

"Hello? Hello! Anyone home?" Syd called.

"Hold yer horses, I'm coming." A man's tired and slightly irritated voice answered back. "Can't ya hear it's the final spin on Wheel of Fortune? All right, what do you want?"

"Two rooms please."

"Nope."

"What do you mean 'nope'?" Gage asked. "Your sign says Vacancy."

"Vacancy, yeah." The man answered. "But not two rooms - only got one left."

"The one room will be fine." Syd answered, obviously irritated by the run around. "Can we register now please?"

"Hey, you guys are Texas Rangers." The man commented, suddenly much more animate and willing to be of service. "We are happy here at the Desert Star Motel to do what we can for our friends in law enforcement. Here you go, number 14 – last room, at the end of the building. How long will you be staying Rangers?"

"We're not sure yet." Trivette replied, filling in the registration form and handing over his credit card. "We'll let you know. And you'll let us know if another room becomes available, right?"

"Sure thing Ranger, though..." he lowered his voice. "That's one pretty filly there...don't know any guy from these parts who would turn down a chance to share a room with her."

"She's a Texas Ranger." Trivette reminded the man as Gage and Sydney headed out the door. "Any guy from around these parts would be good to remember that."

Despite the deteriorated look of the place outside, Room 14 was in reasonably good shape. The linens were clean and the bathroom was stocked with fresh towels. Syd immediately dumped her stuff on one of the beds and claimed it as her own.

"Don't know how you boys are going to sort out the other bed but hands off mine."

"Toss you for it." Trivette said.

"I don't know...I lost the last toss and I had to listen to _your_ music in the backseat of _your_ car the whole way from Dallas."

"C'mon Gage, maybe you'll win this time." Syd encouraged him.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Her partner agreed. "Alright Trivette – tails."

"Oooh, sorry my friend." Trivette laughed as he revealed the coin on the back of this hand. "I win again."

"Awww, c'mon Syd." Gage turned to his partner. "It's only fair, let's toss for that bed too."

"Fair? I have to share a room with you guys. My one compensation is that I get a bed."

"I'm going to freshen up; you two sort this out but remember that this bed is now off limits." Trivette retreated to the bathroom, patting his bed as he went by.

"Syd, please? My back is already killing me from being squished into the back seat of Trivette's car for eight hours."

"Oh alright Gage, stop the whining." His face brightened. "You can have one of my pillows. Now, I think that is very generous of me." She tossed a pillow to him.

Gage stepped menacingly towards her bed and unsure what he was going to do, Syd sat still. But then he stopped in his tracks and gave her a look of defeat, his eyes almost tinged with sadness.

"Oh yes, Syd – you and generosity go hand in hand." A sarcastic response emitted from his lips.

Syd immediately felt contrite and a little bit embarrassed. "Look Gage, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so heartless. Maybe we can take turns, each have it for half the night?"

"Forget it Syd." Gage threw his stuff, including the pillow, onto the floor in between the two beds. "Just forget it."

Syd turned away from Gage, biting her lip. Her partner was annoyed with her and she knew it. She was angry with herself too. Why did she always have to be that way?

Trivette stepped from the bathroom. "You guys ready to go? Oh, you lost that one too hey Gage?" He noted, seeing Gage's stuff on the floor.

"Yeah." Gage brushed past him for his turn in the bathroom. "I'll be with you in a second."

In a few minutes the Rangers were back on the road again, this time driving in the darkness to find the archaeological site. Syd tried to offer the front seat to Gage but he ignored her and climbed in the back. Syd spent the whole drive to the site wondering what she could do to make things better between them and Trivette spent the whole driving wondering what the heck had happened while he was in the bathroom.

It was about a fifteen minute drive out of town when they came upon the sign for County Road 44A, and they turned down it, high beams on. In another ten minutes they came upon a roadblock and slowing down, pulled off to the side of the road.

"Rangers?" A woman's voice called to them as the engine stopped. Walking towards them with a flashlight in her hand the woman could see them but they were practically blinded by her beam

"Yes." Trivette answered stepping out of the car and shielding his eyes. "I'm Ranger James Trivette, this is Ranger Sydney Cooke and this is..."

"Ranger Gage." Gage stuck his arm out to shake the woman's hand, interrupting Trivette before he could finish.

"Oh!" the woman finally exclaimed, lowering her light after realizing that it was blinding them. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sgt. Nancy Wilding with the Terrell County Sheriff's Department. We've been expecting you. Come over here and I'll introduce you to my partner. Martin this is Rangers Trivette, Gage and what was it?"

"Cooke. Ranger Sydney Cooke." Syd stepped forward to shake hands with the tall, dark officer.

"Oh right. Rangers, this is Sgt. Martin Stringer."

"Glad you guys are here. The Rangers from Company E are already here, they are down at the actual site. They've asked if you will assist with our roadblock and surveillance tonight and them tomorrow morning we can take you down to the actual excavation site."

"Sounds good to me." Gage stood nearby Sgt. Nancy Wilding whom Syd could not help but notice was blond and very pretty and looking admiringly at Gage as he spoke. Something akin to jealously began to burn in Syd and she tried to suppress it, however her voice came out more like a growl.

"Well then Gage, since you are so keen I guess you can take first shift. Trivette?"

"Fine, fine. I could use a few hours of shut eye. One of us will be back in say...three hours...to provide some relief."

"Sure, whatever." Gage called back over his shoulder as he walked away from Syd and Trivette, following Nancy to where she and Martin had a cooler and a couple of chairs set up.

"Let's go." Syd called to Trivette, clearly impatient.

Trivette shook his head as he watched Syd stomp off to the car and Gage settle down casually into a conversation with the pretty Sergeant. When would that boy ever learn?


	2. Chapter 2

Syd returned to the site after midnight, three hours since she and Trivette had left Gage there. It had been hard to only get about 2 and half hours sleep but she thought that Jimmy probably deserved to sleep the longest; he had after all done all the driving.

When she pulled down County Road 44 and encountered the road block, Gage was actively involved in a conversation with the two local law enforcers and they were clearly having a great time.

"Oh hey Shorty." Gage called to her as Syd stepped from the vehicle. He was clearly in a better mood than the last time he had spoken to her. "You are going to have a great time; these two have some funny tales to tell."

"Oh, Gage – you're being modest." Nancy said. "He had lots of funny things to tell about his partner back in Dallas."

"Oh really?" Syd put her hands on her hips. "Did he happen to tell you who his partner is?"

Gage looked sheepishly at Syd and then turned, "Uh, Nancy, Martin – meet my partner."

"Oh my God...so you're the one that..." Nancy started laughing and Syd turned to stare at Gage.

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing bad Syd, just some funny things that we've had to do undercover. You know, some of the good times we've had."

"I can't recall any of them right now." Syd's stare turned into a glare and for the first time since he had told some of those silly stories it occurred to him that his partner would never have told stories about him that made people laugh, especially not total strangers. "Here's the keys."

"Syd..." Gage began but she was already marching away from him, her back straight.

"Sweet dreams partner." She called back to him in a voice that told him she wished him anything but.

"Goodnight Gage." Nancy shouted and then stood up and walked towards him as he was climbing into the truck.

"Have a good night. See you tomorrow." Martin called to their departing colleague, and then turned to Syd. "Sydney was it? Can I interest you in a cup of coffee, fresh from my thermos?"

"Sounds great Martin, thank you." Syd took the coffee he offered her and sat back, ready for her three hours of surveillance. Nancy returned to the area as Gage pulled away in the car and three officers began to get to know one another.

Despite her initial resentment towards Nancy Wildings, Syd actually found herself liking her. She was funny and spirited, very interested in local history and archaeology and actually a few years older than she first seemed to Syd. Martin was a bit more serious, a family man with two children and a wife who was a dental hygienist, a dedicated law professional who hoped that someday he too might join the Texas Rangers.

When Trivette came to relieve her about 3:00 Syd was quite wide awake and she wondered how she was ever going to fall asleep. Trivette look refreshed after his time at the motel, but it was obvious that tomorrow was going to be a rough day on all of them.

When Syd returned to the motel Gage was sound asleep on the floor. She couldn't believe it! There were two empty beds in the room and Gage was still sleeping where they had originally insisted he go.

Syd changed quietly in the dark, slipping into an old T-shirt she had kept at the office to sleep in. She tiptoed towards her bed and crawled in, all the while listening to Gage's peaceful breathing. Once she was under the sheets she called out to him quietly.

"Gage...Gage..."

"Hmm...what...what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She whispered. "I just thought you might want to sleep in a bed."

"You offering your bed?"

"No!" Syd could feel herself blushing despite the cover of darkness. "Trivette's gone, go sleep in his bed."

"Okay." Gage clumsily gathered his meagre possessions – the pillow, a blanket - from the floor and clambered onto Trivette's bed. Within minutes both the Rangers were sound asleep.

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It was after 7:00 in the morning when Gage and Syd both woke up.

"Syd... wake up!" Gage called to his partner sleeping so peacefully in the next bed. He hated to do it but..."Syd, wake up. It's after 7:00, we're late! Trivette is going to kill us."

"Oh my God!" Syd jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, taking time only to splash water on her face and brush her teeth and hair. Gage followed suit and by 7:15 they were both dressed, presentable and on their way out the door. They stopped at a little diner called Aunt Susie's Kountry Kitchen and ordered five hearty breakfast platters to go and were soon on their way out to the roadblock.

Trivette gave them a hard time for a few minutes but was appeased by his breakfast platter and the fact that his car was fine.

Nancy headed directly over to Gage and while she smiled and waved at Sydney, she started laughing uproariously about something that Gage said as they ate their breakfasts.

Sitting beside Sydney as she ate Martin watched as the petite dark haired Ranger started picking at her food when she caught sight of Gage and Nancy engaged in what seemed to be a very exclusive conversation.

"Does he know how much you care about him?" Martin asked her and Syd stopped eating completely, turning to stare at this man who was practically a stranger.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I know it's none of my business but I can see that you're bothered by your partner and Nancy."

"Why should I care if my partner has a conversation with another law enforcement official?"

"I somehow doubt that if he was having a conversation with me you would have stopped eating your breakfast."

"It's just a lot of food, that's all and it's pretty greasy. Gage is my partner and my friend but I don't have any control over the women who chooses to have in his life. And anyways, Nancy seems nice enough."

"Oh, she's great. She is also pretty and bubbly and, well, what can I tell you? My wife got pretty darn jealous when I was first teamed up with her. It took a lot of convincing that we were just friendly co-workers."

"Well, Martin – thank you for your opinion but I am not Gage's wife and I am certainly not jealous." Syd stood up, dumped the remains of her breakfast platter in the garbage and asked loudly when they would be ready to go.

Trivette finished up quickly and joined Syd as she stood looking down the road towards the archaeological site, just barely visible in the distance. Nancy and Gage dumped their garbage and while Nancy started to pack up the cooler and chairs, Martin pulled Gage aside before he could join his colleagues.

"Hey Gage."

"Yeah Martin?"

"Just a word of advice from one guy to another. Try and be a little more sensitive to the feelings of your partner there."

"Syd? What's wrong? Did she say something to you?"

"No but I reckon she rather has her nose out of joint because of you and Nancy."

"Me and Nancy?"

"Oh c'mon man, don't play dumb with me. Nancy set her sights on you the moment you stepped out of the car last evening, and if the feeling is mutual then I think it's great – Nancy is a fine woman, but you should remember that there is another woman here that could get hurt. I'm just asking you to think about that."

Gage stood there dumbfounded and looked between Nancy, who grinned up at him, and Syd who was standing stiffly, her back deliberately to him. Oh boy, how had this happened?

"Thanks Martin, I appreciate the advice."

"I've been there buddy."

Gage walked towards Trivette and his partner, moving in to stand beside Syd. "I'm ready."

"Good." The senior Ranger smiled, reaching for his car keys.

"Finally." Was Syd's response.

"Syd, we need to talk." Gage tried to stop Syd by lightly touching her shoulder as she began to follow Trivette.

She shrugged him off. "Gage..."

"Later, okay Syd?"

"Fine. Let's go now though okay, we have work to do."

Sergeants Wilding and Stringer led the Rangers down the road towards the archaeological site and after introducing them to the team that was in place there, headed back to town for some sleep.

"See you again soon Gage." Nancy called as their van pulled away.

"Uh, sure." Gage called back, suddenly feeling very awkward that Nancy had ignored both Sydney and Trivette in her farewell address.

At the site they were introduced to Ranger Cam Steadman and Ranger Jamie Tucker who were both heading home to bed after being awake all night, Site Supervisor and Head Archaeologist at Texas University in Austin Dr. Patricia Reach, and four summer students with varying levels of archaeological expertise.

"You had no problems last night?" Trivette asked.

"No, none. Nor any the night before either but three night ago now we lost several important native pieces which we had uncovered earlier in the day from the grave of what we believe was a prominent chief."

"Could I get a list and description of those objects that went missing?"

"Certainly Ranger Trivette and I can even give you digital images. We had managed to photograph and document all the pieces before they were stolen. Why don't you come with me and I'll have one of the students show Rangers Gage and Cooke around? Neil – would you come and take these Rangers on a tour of our site and please point out the exact location where we uncovered the stolen artefacts."

"Sure thing!" Neil was a pleasant and eager young man. This was his third summer dig and he was entering his last year of undergraduate courses and hoping to work on his Masters degree next fall under Dr. Reach. He took them around, briefly showing them the living quarters, the cooking facilities, the preparation and storage tent, the lab filled with portable microscopes and computer equipment, and finally he led them out into the desert for about a mile to the site of the excavation.

"This is so neat." Gage commented. "I've never been to an actual archaeological site. So do you find lots of cool things?"

"Sometimes, like this time, we found the grave and all the associated grave goods. Often burial places have been looted or there has been animal activity so we get very excited if we simply find a tooth or a piece of pottery."

"Isn't this just so neat Syd? Imagine, once someone was buried here."

"Yeah." Syd replied, the place was actually making her feel uneasy and she felt like they were being watched. She looked all around them but couldn't see anything.

"Everything okay Shorty?" Gage picked up on his partner's unease and stood up.

"Yeah...I've just got one of those bad feelings, like someone is watching us."

Gage looked around but he couldn't see anything either. Still, Syd's instincts were usually pretty good.

Neil piped up. "Sometimes I feel that way out here. I like to think it's the ancient spirits watching over me."

"Yeah, it's probably just something like that." Gage noticed as Syd almost shivered and then stepped visibly closer to him. He wanted to reach out and put his arm around her shoulder but figured that she would probably whack him if he did that. So he did the next best thing, tried to soothe her discomfort by announcing that it was probably time to head back.

Syd nodded and Neil led the way and Gage was aware the whole way back that his partner kept an even pace with him, always within his arms reach.

Back at the main site Trivette told them that Walker had called and needed one of them to meet him in Sanderson. Since he had just acquired all the information about the missing objects he'd go and leave Syd and Gage to guard the site.

"That's fine Trivette. I could use a little R & R out here anyways." Gage joked. "I mean, the objects are missing right. I doubt anyone is going to come back now and try to take some old pottery."

"Don't underestimate the power of the dead." Kate, one of the summer students, spoke in a voice that was almost eerie and Syd felt downright cold to the bone as the girl spoke.

"I think I need to go sit down." Syd announced. "I'm suddenly not feeling very well."

"Oh, here – come with me." Susan, another of the students took Syd by the arm. "It's probably the heat. When you aren't used to it it can really take a lot out of you. Have you had any water yet?"

When Syd shook her head no, David the last of the students, headed straight for the canteen to fetch a large water bottle for each of the Rangers.

After she had been sitting down, in the shade of one of the work tents, and had guzzled a significant portion of the water bottle, she did feel better but she couldn't shake the sensation that there was more to it than the heat and a bit of dehydration.

Gage came in soon after and sat down beside her. "You feel better Syd?"

"Yeah, a little. Thanks for not laughing at me out there; I really did feel a creepy presence."

"Syd, I trust your instincts on things like this; we all need to go with our gut sometimes – that's how we survive."

"Thanks Gage." She smiled at him.

Gage looked like he wanted to say more, opening his mouth slightly but then he closed it and looked away.

"What?" Syd prodded.

"It's just..." Gage turned back around and met her gaze. "It's just that you are so beautiful when you smile."

"I am?" Syd felt heat course through her body from nose to toe.

"Yeah." Gage looked like he was about to say more but Dr. Reach entered the tent at that moment, ready to discuss her plans for the day with the Rangers.

"It's too hot to work in the midday heat out at the excavation site so we normally go out at first light, come back for lunch and a bit of a siesta, then go back out again for the evening. We have obviously missed this morning's time as it is already quite late." Gage had to refrain from laughing since it was only about 9:00. "That's fine of course; we'll do some lab work, have our usual afternoon break and then go back out around 5:00. Does that work for you?"

"I think that's fine, as far as we know right now Dr. Reach." Syd answered.

"Please call me Patricia."

"Patricia. As I said, its fine for us but plans could change depending on what information Ranger Trivette brings back."

"Of course. Would you care to see the lab in action?"

"Sure." Gage and Syd followed Dr. Reach to the lab where they spent the morning learning all the ins and outs of on-site archaeological laboratory work.

They worked together and prepared lunch with the archaeologists, eating a pleasant meal in the shade of the canteen/kitchen tent. After the meal the five members of the team headed to their respective tents for a rest.

"You are welcome to join us Rangers. The boys have their own tent Ranger Gage and we have plenty of room for you Ranger Cooke."

"Thank you, no. We need to stand guard and watch the site. You rest; we'll call you if we need you."

"Thanks. Please just remember to stay out of the midday sun. I can see Ranger Gage that your fair skin is already beginning to burn and Ranger Cooke you look a little pale, perhaps you should drink more water."

Syd nodded and reached for her third large water bottle that day, downing a large mouthful.

She and Gage sat there; talking idly about all sorts of things and wondering what Trivette and Walker had uncovered that had kept Trivette from returning. He had been gone for over four hours and although he was not due back any particular time, both Rangers felt like their life line to the real world had been taken from them.

As she finished the third bottle of water Gage looked at his partner and determined that she still looked pale, perhaps even more so.

"I'm fine Gage, really." Syd protested but as she stood up to fetch more water, she fainted. Her actions were so sudden that Gage was unprepared and Syd crashed to the ground.

He rushed to her side and felt for a pulse. It felt weak and her breathing was shallow.

"Syd...Syd...wake up please." Gage lifted her head in his arms and lightly stroked the hair from her face. When she didn't respond he shouted loudly for help.

Dr. Reach and the four students were with them in a matter of minutes.

"What happened?" The lead archaeologist asked.

"She was looking pale, like you noticed before, but she was drinking water and kept getting paler. Then she stood up and just passed out. Her breathing is a bit laboured and her pulse is weak. What do you think is wrong?"

The five members of the camp looked at each and said together "Snake bite." And Neil took off for the first aid kit.

"Snake bite? She didn't say anything about being bitten." Gage felt his heart racing. Hang on Syd.

"Does your partner tell you everything?"

"No, I guess not."

"She may not even have known she was bitten. It might have just felt like an insect bite. My guess it was the bite of one of the lesser poisonous snakes and that's why the toxin has taken so long to go through her system. Yes, look – here on her ankle."

Gage looked at the slightly swollen and red area low on Syd's leg.

"Will she be alright?" Please tell me she's going to be alright, his eyes were pleading as he cradled her head in his lap.

"If I'm right this anti-venom serum will reduce the toxicity and relieve the strain on her heart and other muscles." Dr. Reach injected Syd in the thigh with a large needle from the kit Neil had brought back. "When she comes-to we'll need to give her lots, and I do mean lots, of fluid to flush out the toxins. She'll probably be weak for several hours, maybe even a day or more, but she'll recover. If it had been the bite of one of our more poisonous friends she could have been dead within a few minutes."

"Thank you." Gage breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't imagine his life without Syd in it.

The students and Dr. Reach returned to their tents and Gage sat with Syd's head resting in his lap, listening as her breathing improved and feeling her pulse return to normal. He cooled her head with a damp cloth and waited for her to wake up.

"G...G...Gage?"

"Yes Syd, it's me." He smiled down at her.

"What's wrong? You look so worried." Slowly Syd became conscious of where she was and struggled to sit up. "What happened?"

"You were bitten by a snake." Gage helped Syd to a sitting position on the ground but he stayed beside her, his hand on her back to steady her.

"I was?"

"Yeah...you passed out and Dr. Reach had to give you an anti-venom serum."

"Am I going to be okay?" Syd grabbed at Gage's arm in panic, her voice shrill.

"Yes...shh Syd, you're going to be fine. Now here, I have been told that I need to make you drink at least one of these big bottles every fifteen minutes to flush the toxins out. So let's start now." He helped Syd hold the bottle and he could feel how weak her muscles seemed. When she had finished more than half he let her stop for a moment and he could feel her resting against him.

"Did you really mean it before when you said I was beautiful?"

"Yeah Syd, I did. You are the most beautiful women I have ever known."

"What about Nancy?"

"What about her?"

"Isn't she pretty?"

"I suppose so, if you like that type." She almost dies and here she wants to talk about Sergeant Nancy? I'll never understand women. "Here, sit up again Syd, let's finish this bottle."

Syd finished the bottle and Gage helped her make her way to the bathroom, or rather the chemical toilet. When she had finished in there, Gage got her settled in a comfortable chair, her bitten ankle raised in the air, in the work tent which was the closest shaded area to the toilet. Then he fetched another several bottles of water.

The afternoon passed by pretty slowly. Syd felt groggy and tired her movements sluggish and slow but after some time her colour returned to normal. Gage tried to pass some of the time by practising his sign language. He didn't need it any longer since the surgery to correct his damaged hearing had been successful but he felt it was a skill he should keep honed. Syd laughed a few times at some of Gage's mistakes.

"Oh nice Syd. You, of course are Miss Perfection and probably remember every single action." He looked a little annoyed with her.

"No, I'm sure I don't. I'm sorry Gage; I didn't mean to laugh at you. I'm not perfect."

"Darn right."

"Hey, you didn't have to agree so fast!"

Gage grinned at her, his irritation abated. At that moment they caught sight of Trivette's car heading down the dirt road, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"I wonder what's wrong? He's going really fast." Gage got to his feet. "No Syd, you keep sitting – you're still really weak."

Syd grimaced, she hated being weak and to be called that by her partner...arg! It was frustrating, especially since it was the truth at this moment.

"Hey guys." Trivette leapt from the car. "Where is everyone?"

"Siesta time." Gage answered. "What's going on?"

"Well Walker has run into some problems and he...hey, what's the matter with Sydney?"

"Snake bite."

"Oooh, Sydney are you okay? Shouldn't you be at the hospital or something?"

"Apparently not, they had a venom kit here and it wasn't that deadly a snake."

"Still..."

"I'm fine Trivette. What's going on with Walker?"

Trivette looked at Gage questioningly. "She said she's fine man; better tell her what's going on."

"Okay...looks like trouble may be heading our way. Walker and the chief at the reservation were unable to appease some members of the vigilante group and they have formed their own sort of small army. They have a large number of weapons at their disposal and are likely heading here tonight."

"Why are they coming here? Everything of value was taken already."

"Well, you see...in order to catch them and the perpetrators Walker has had a rumour spread that more sacred and valuable material has been found here today. He believes the original material was taken across the border to Mexico and suspects that the thieves will return here tonight, probably well armed this time because they know authorities have been alerted, and try to seize the new material. The vigilante group thinks the same thing so they'll be here, lying in wait somewhere to basically start a war."

"What else aren't you telling us?" Syd asked, she could tell that Jimmy was leaving something out.

"The vigilante group believes, and probably rightly so, that the remains and artefacts are sacred relics that belong to their tribe. The last thing they want is to see them make their way into Mexico. They have stated that they would rather see the material destroyed than taken across the border. We are going to need to be very careful."

"How did the information about the first finds make its way into general knowledge? This place is isolated."

"That's the other tricky part – either this place is being watched or one of the members of this team contacted someone on the outside, either intentionally or inadvertently alerting outsiders."

"Syd felt like she was being watched earlier when we were out at the dig site."

"You did?" Trivette turned to look at Sydney.

"Yeah, it was creepy but both Gage and I looked around and couldn't see anything. It's pretty barren out there, not many hiding places."

"That means it's probably one of team here then that is responsible, however we shouldn't discount the feeling you had Sydney. Walker goes on his hunches and gut-feelings all the time and it has saved my butt more times than I can remember. I'll go talk to Dr. Reach and let her know what's going on."

"Is that wise? It could be her."

"I don't think we have much choice, we have to take that risk – we'll need her help to prepare the site. Her background check came up very clean and she makes a substantial salary at the university. If it's intentional it's more likely to be one of our young friends here, eager to make some quick money and maybe finance their education. Or even if it's unintentional, they're young and excited about their first big find so they call or e-mail a friend who tells someone else, and so on. "

"Okay, so we'll start questioning our friends here then, hey?" Gage asked. "Syd, you up to doing that?"

"Yeah, if we do it together. I'm afraid my brain still feels a bit foggy and I'm worried I might let someone pull the wool over my eyes."

"Well, in this heat we certainly don't need any wool." Gage smiled down at his partner. "I'll go get our first interviewee."


	3. Chapter 3

All of the students swore up and down that they had not contacted anyone on the outside and discussed their find. None of them had cell phones with them at the dig and told the Rangers that the only person with e-mail and cell phone access was Dr. Reach.

Syd was feeling significantly better by the end of the interviews, though she was still running to bathroom every fifteen minutes, just as often as she was finishing those big bottles of water. The actual site of the bite, which she still couldn't remember happening, was swollen and hot and in general the muscles in her body felt fatigued. Still, her mind wasn't so sluggish anymore and she was able to get up and make it to the toilet independently; both she and Gage saw these as good signs.

Trivette returned from his lengthy meeting with Dr. Reach and informed the younger Rangers that everything was in place. Several mock objects had been placed in the storage area, unbeknownst to the junior members of the team, and Trivette planned to stand guard in the storage tent while the group ate dinner and went out for the evening dig. Syd would provide backup.

Gage was to go with the archaeological team out into the field and keep an eye on the activities out there. He felt a bit wary with the plan that separated him and his partner but he knew that Syd just wasn't up to the trek to and from the dig.

Gage and Syd ate dinner with the archaeological team, bringing Trivette a plate to eat in the storage area. Two of the students, Kate and Neil, both seemed very concerned that Trivette wouldn't leave the storage tent and were clearly clued in to the fact that something was going on. Susan and David shrugged the Ranger's behaviour off as having nothing to do with them, they were anxious to get back out into the field after a missed morning of digging.

When it came time for Gage and the students to follow Dr. Reach out into the field, Gage approached his partner and lightly touched her on the arm.

"You're going to be okay Syd?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better and besides, Trivette is here. Don't worry - I'll be fine."

"I just don't like being out there without you at my side." He reached down and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"I know the feeling." Syd looked down at their hands and pulled hers away, but not before she gave Gage the lightest of squeezes in return. "You be careful out there, okay?"

"And you fire a shot in the air at the first sign of trouble and I'll be back as fast as I can."

Syd nodded and moved to join Trivette. "See you later."

"See you." And Gage jogged off to join the rest of the team who was waiting for him.

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The first hour that Syd and Trivette were alone was uneventful.

And then, shortly after 6:00, all hell broke loose.

Two large, loud vans sped down the dirt road at an incredible rate, screeching to a stop near the tent where the two Rangers stood guard. Loaded down with shotguns and semi-automatic weapons several men jumped from each van, immediately moving to the tents at the site, ripping them open with knives, pawing through the contents, knocking down the structures when they didn't find what they were looking for.

"Stop, Texas Rangers!" Trivette called to them. "Can we help you?"

"Out of our way Ranger, we're gonna get what we came for and there ain't nobody who is going to stop us."

One of the men pointed his gun at Trivette, shoving him out of the way as he and his gang forced their way into the storage tent. Trivette swung at the man with one hand, reaching for his gun with the other but it was too late. The man fired at him, point blank range, hitting him in the shoulder and Trivette crumpled to the ground screaming in pain.

Syd reached for her gun as the scene in front of her unfolded as if in slow motion. She aimed at the man who had shot Trivette but was grabbed from behind, just as the gun went off, sending her shot aimlessly into the evening sky.

Syd was held from the back by the neck and thrust into the storage tent.

"Where are the pieces?"

"What pieces?"

"Don't play dumb with me Ranger – the valuable pieces from the dig. We heard that three new pieces had been found today and we want them, now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Syd protested, and the man tightened his chokehold on her causing her to struggle as she gasped for air.

"We don't need you for this anyways. Tear the place apart men!"

The man continued to hold onto Syd as the tent was torn apart. Just as the men came upon the chest containing the fake valuable pieces and held it up victoriously, Syd could hear other vehicles pulling up outside and the sound of both gunshots and hand-to-hand combat. In a matter of minutes the skirmish outside seemed to be over, and all was quiet.

"Texas Rangers - come out with your hands up!" Syd heard Walker call, relief flooding over her.

The man holding her turned around, still maintaining his grip on her, and headed out the door of the tent his gun pointed at Syd's head.

"Don't do anything stupid Ranger." He hissed in her ear.

"Release her and let's talk this over."

"I don't think so Ranger." The man holding her yelled. "I've got what I came for, let us through or your pretty Ranger here is dead."

Walker gave the signal to the Rangers and other police officers behind him to hold up. The pieces were, of course, fakes and already too much blood had been shed. Syd struggled to see if Trivette was okay but she couldn't locate him.

"No sudden movements, my men are going to go to our van, put out stuff in and drive away. One mistake and this gun will go off, right here next to her head."

The man holding Syd signalled to the men behind him in the storage tent to move out. Carrying the chest the two men ran to one of the pick-up trucks while the leader moved slowly in the same direction dragging Sydney with him.

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If it hadn't been such a serious task to guard over the archaeologists Gage probably would have enjoyed himself. It was really fascinating to see the team at work, though he recognized immediately that he would never make a good archaeologist – he was just too impatient.

When he heard the two gunshots Gage took off towards the camp in a run, yelling instructions to the archaeologists to stay where they were.

It was a long mile back to the site and by the time it came into view Gage could see a collection of vehicles parked haphazardly around the area. Several of the tents had been knocked down or were standing askew. He heard more gunshots and he could see a number of people exchanging blows.

As he got closer the hand to hand fighting ceased, a number of disarmed men lying scattered around the camp. Walker was standing there shouting something and Trivette, oh my god, he was lying there in a pool of blood. Where was Syd?

Finally he saw her, held hostage by the first man to exit the tent where the 'valuable' objects had been hidden. Whose stupid idea was this whole fake object thing anyways? If anything happened to Syd...

He snuck closer to the site watching, with his heart pounding, as the man climbed into the van still holding Syd at gunpoint. He could see how tightly the man held her around her throat and how limply his partner's arms hung at her sides. He could only imagine what she must be experiencing, physically and emotionally, given her weakened state. She looked brave though, her face a mask of calm.

Gage wanted to shout and make a commotion – do anything to get his partner out of there, but even from his position off to the side he could see Walker's instructions for the officers to stay back. He knew Walker was right; they couldn't risk the man shooting Syd but if they drove away with her he couldn't even begin to imagine what might happen to her, where she might end up.

The door to the van slammed, Syd inside with the men and their loot, and the van started up and drove away. Gage couldn't stop himself. As if on autopilot he roared across the site, racing to Walker's side, screaming after the van.

"Noooooooooooo!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Walker was shouting to the officers. "Follow them!"

"Walker?" Out of breath Gage looked at his boss.

"Gage, the vigilante group was right on our tail over here. Those guys are going to run into them on the road out of here, and they are very well armed. They don't know that Sydney is in the van and even if they did, they may not care – they are hell bent on making sure those pieces don't cross the border into Mexico and they'll stop at nothing to prevent that."

Gage just stood there staring at his boss.

"Go!" Walker yelled at him, jump-starting Gage who took off in a run, jumping onto the back of one of the last pick-up trucks leaving the scene. As he looked back at the site Gage saw Walker running over his partner, calling for help on his cell phone.

Walker was right, within minutes the truck Gage was in came upon the scene of a standoff. Three dark vans, filled with members of the native vigilante group had managed to stop the van carrying Syd and the worthless objects.

As Gage's truck came to a stop he saw the driver and front seat passenger of the get-away van step out and away from the vehicle. When they tried to make a run for it they were both dead within seconds, blown away by single shots from the native vans.

"Come out now!" He heard one of the leaders shout. "Out before we open fire on the whole van."

When the call failed to bring the desired response, members of the vigilante group raised their guns.

"Stop!" Gage cried, jumping from the back of a pick-up. "There is a hostage inside, a Texas Ranger."

"Out of the way Ranger, we don't want to kill you but we will if we need to. What's in that van is ours, and we will reclaim it in the name of our nation."

The men around him erupted into cheers.

"Okay thieves!" The native leader called again. "Last chance, on three. One...two..."

The door opened and Syd was pushed out, her weakened legs muscles causing her to collapse to her knees. A gun pointed at her head, the man who had taken her captive stepped out behind Syd and hauled her to her feet.

"Don't anybody move, or I'll kill her!"

A shot rang out from one of the vigilante vans and Gage watched in horror as Syd and then the man holding her hostage crumpled to the ground. Gage took off in a dead run for his partner's side, reaching her moments before the van was swarmed by members of the vigilante group.

Gage couldn't see anything and he could barely feel Syd. His hands were getting covered in a sticky substance...blood. As he pulled Syd into his arms they were stood on and kicked in the wild scramble to find the treasure.

Suddenly though, sirens pieced the night air and bright flashing lights lit up the sky. Gage found himself, and Syd whom he held tightly in his arms, scooped up and flung into the back of the van, which then took off into the darkness, dust flying high in the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

Gage held his partner protectively, trying to prevent her from being jostled and bumped as the van made its way across very bumpy terrain.

"Syd...Syd...are you okay? Talk to me."

"What are you doing here?" Gage's heart stopped racing as he heard her voice. But then he realized that instead of sounding relieved to see him, she sounded irritated. He released her from his tight hold and pulled back to look at her. Faint light from the moon outside shone in through the back windows of the van illuminating their faces.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" His voice was incredulous. "I heard gunshots; I raced back from the dig and saw my partner being taken by gunpoint into this van. I followed it and then I saw you get shot...oh my God Syd, are you okay? There was blood." He looked down at his hands, smears of drying red-brown evident.

"I don't think it was me. I think it hit the guy holding me, I felt him crumple and I just went down with him." Her voice was softer. "No Gage, I mean why are you here? You shouldn't have followed. Now we're both in trouble."

He looked at her intently, eyes dark in the moonlight, and then crushed her to him. "I couldn't think straight Syd. I saw him taking you and I was so scared and then I thought you were shot and I just couldn't get to you fast enough. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. I'm just so glad you're okay."

Syd's arms snaked around Gage's back and she held onto him tightly as he poured his heart out. She let her head fall against his chest, her ear pressed against him listening to his heart beating. She relaxed for a moment as he stroked her hair and rubbed her back.

"Thank you Gage." She finally, simply said.

Feeling her warmth snuggled against him, his partner safe in his arms, Gage realized that he didn't ever want to let her go. This is where Syd belonged; it's where he was meant to be. Well, except that they were travelling across the desert to who knows where in the back of van which had been commandeered by native terrorists. Telling his partner about this realization would have to wait until later.

"Syd...got any ideas how we can get out of here?"

Syd pulled herself away from Gage, her moment of weakness over. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"No...we're clearly not on a road. I've lost all sense of direction."

Syd almost laughed. "Since when have you had a good sense of direction?" She whispered and was about to say more when they were interrupted.

"Hey Joe, these two are awake! What do ya want me to do with'em?"

"Tie 'em up Andre. We'll figure something out later. Right now I just want to get as far away from here as we can – I think I've lost the police but they won't be far behind."

Andre stepped back to the floor behind the backseat but as he moved to restrain Syd, who was closest, Gage swung up and caught Andre on the jaw. A larger man than the Texas Ranger and still armed with his gun, Andre pointed the weapon at Syd.

"You two don't mean nothin' to me; I could kill ya right now – starting with the lady."

The Rangers were silent, Syd wordlessly pleading for Gage to not put them in any more danger. To ensure their co-operation Andre took a swing at Gage while he was momentarily distracted by looking at Syd and knocked him unconscious.

"That's better." Andre took some rope from the floor and tied Syd's wrists together, above and behind her head, securing them to a metal bar running along the inside of the van. She tried to struggle but her muscles were still so weak and her feeble effort did nothing but amuse her captor. He followed suit with Gage, his head still lolling, tying him in place on the opposite side of the van from his partner.

"Okay Joe, they're tied up." Andre called to the driver.

"Good, now get back up here. We've got to ditch this van. Get the pieces out of that chest there and put them in my black bag, and when we see our chance to leave we'll be ready to take it."

"Sure thing boss."

Syd could hear Andre opening the chest and unzipping a bag, but she didn't care about that right now. The objects were worthless anyways. All she cared about was that her partner looked awful, tied to the van with his head swinging violently with each and every frequent bump of the van. They weren't on a road; even if they were somehow able to escape where would they find themselves?

"Gage...Gage!" Syd called to him.

No response.

"Gage! Wake up, please." Her voice was cracking. "I need you."

Nothing.

Syd wished she could touch him, caress his cheek where the brute Andre had struck him, and gently call him back from wherever he was now. It was more frustrating than she could ever imagine being so close and yet so far.

She knew that she was too weak to make an escape on her own, especially if she had to carry or drag her partner with her. She needed Gage's strength, his support, his ability to make feel safe just by being beside her. She needed him; she wanted him beside her every day and, if she was honest with herself, every night. Please God let him be alright and let us get out of here alive so I can tell him that.

Syd's silent and not so silent pleadings did little good. The van rumbled on and on for hours, bouncing and jarring its occupants cruelly. Despite her best efforts Syd found herself struggling with the effects of the toxin still in her system and she soon fell into a deep but restless sleep of exhaustion.

When Gage came-to early morning light was filtering in through the back window and he could see Syd across from him, her head hanging low, her arms tied above her as he imagined his own were. The van was still bouncing across rough terrain but their captors must have felt confident they had lost the police tail because the speed had decreased to a relatively normal pace.

Suddenly though the van came to a screeching halt and Joe or Andre, Gage couldn't tell which, cursed.

"Go get the stuff; we'll have to go on by foot." Joe spoke to his companion.

"What about those two?"

"Leave 'em here. I'm sure as hell not taking responsibility for them."

A bit of fear crept into Andre's voice. "But they're Texas Rangers...we're going to be in a lot of trouble if anything serious happens to them."

"What? More trouble than we're already in? Get a grip Andre! Look, we'll just push the van into the river okay and they'll drown – end of story, and we've saved two bullets."

"Okay boss." Andre climbed in the back and reached for the bag filled with the objects for which he and his partner were clearly ready to kill. Gage wanted to tell him they were fakes, but wasn't prepared to risk the wrath of Joe – clearly the more callous of the two.

Syd had woken up when the van came to a halt. Her head lifted from her chest.

"Gage?" She called, her eyes trying to focus in the sunlight.

"Right here Syd." His face hurt where Andre had slugged him; he imagined he had a nasty bruise there.

"I can't move my arms." She was still groggy.

"I know, I can't either."

"Hey you two, shut up." Andre looked over the backseat at them.

"Let us go." Gage demanded. "Look, we don't have any weapons – we can't hurt you. Just let us out."

"No can do, its goodbye to you two."

"C'mon Andre, stop jabbering and let's get going." They heard the front door slam as Joe left the van.

"Where are you going?" Syd looked up at Andre, her head hurting and all her muscles incredibly stiff.

"Nowhere with you sweetheart, not that you aren't a pretty thing. Sure seems a shame."" Andre grabbed the bag, slid open the side door and hopped out, slamming it shut behind him.

"Where are they going Gage? What's happening?" Syd asked her partner weakly, as she struggled to release her wrists from their restraints.

Gage was struggling with his restraints as well. "I heard them say they were going to push the van into the river."

His comment was followed by the heavy grunts of the two men outside the back doors of the van and the sudden rolling of the van, followed by a sudden lurch and a tremendous splash.

"Oh my god - Gage!"

The van was bobbing up and down in the water; this was no mere stream. Gage and Syd could hear the water rushing around them and within seconds wetness started to creep up around them through the floorboards of the van.

"Gage, we have to get out of here." Syd was starting to panic, the rope around her wrists digging in and ripping at her flesh as she struggled. She couldn't stand to be this helpless.

"I know Syd, I know." Gage tried to keep his voice calm as he felt his partner's rising fear.

There was a loud crash and suddenly the van was no longer moving, but the water continued to roar around them and steadily rose inside. Both Rangers, still sitting, were now submerged to the waist.

"The van must be lodged against something."

"Gage, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know Syd, I don't know. I'm trying, I really am but I am stuck."

"I know you are Gage, I'm sorry. I'm just scared."

The water was rising fast inside the van now, reaching Syd's chest. Blood was dripping down her wrists as she continued to struggle. Gage, still fighting with his own ropes could only look on helplessly.

Syd started crying as the water reached her neck.

"Gage, I don't want to die. There's so much I haven't done, that I haven't said. Gage..."

The tears streaming down his partner's face gave Gage the sudden strength that he needed to free himself from his restraints. He felt the rope burning and ripping his skin as he tore free from it but paid the pain no heed. Half-swimming, half walking to Syd who was now tilting her head back as far as she could to keep the water from going in her mouth and nose, he immediately began to untie the ropes that bound her.

By time he finished Syd was bobbing between being under the surface and above it; her breath ragged as she tried to inhale before being swished under again. He grabbed her under her arms, raising her above the level of the water where she rapidly drew in short, uneven breaths.

"Syd, the water is rising too fast. We're going to have to swim for the shore. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes." He could feel her shaking.

"Okay. I'm going to open these doors and I want you to hold onto me as tight as you can. The water is pretty rough out there; I think we are near or in a set of rapids. I'm going to do the best I can to take us to shore okay?"

Syd pulled back from Gage a little to look him straight in the eyes and nodded. "Okay."

Gage looked at Syd saw the trust she had for him shining in her eyes. He hoped his eyes reflected that faith back to her. Leaning forward suddenly he kissed her recklessly, his lips on hers trying somehow to show her how much she meant to him. When he felt her lips returning the kiss ardently he knew that she understood, that she felt the same way.

When they pulled apart after that timeless moment Gage looked at her. "Ready Syd? Hold on tight. On the count of three – one...two...three!"

It was difficult to open against the rushing of the water but Gage managed to get one of the back doors open. As he did a huge wave covered them both but they emerged the other side of it, gasping and choking.

"Big breath Syd – I'm going to swim for it." They each took a deep breath and with Syd's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, Gage stepped out into the rushing current.

They were tossed against the rocks, their bodies bashed into a fallen tree, their heads swallowed up by torrents of water but Gage fought his way across the white water with Syd clinging to him desperately, and after a valiant effort from both Rangers they at the shore, half-dragging, half pulling each other up the embankment.

Collapsing in a jumble of exhaustion and relief, Syd and Gage wrapped their arms around each other breathing heavily.

"Thank you, thank you." Syd was crying into Gage's shoulder. Now that she had started she couldn't seem to stop crying. She had been close to death before but she didn't think she'd ever been THAT close. She knew she couldn't have done that without Gage – he was the one who had untied her, the one who had strained his body beyond the capacity of a normal man to bring them here to where they were safe.

"Shh, shh, shh Syd. It's okay. We're safe, we're safe." Gage held his partner close, his own ragged breaths not far different from her sobs. He stroked her wet hair and felt her warm breath against his chest; as soon as her breathing had evened out he set her slightly away from him and looked at her.

"You okay?" She looked awful, her hair was matted and she was covered with scrapes and bruises and pretty much everything hurt but she was alive. She smiled at him.

"Yeah."

"Good." He smiled back. "We should start walking, we need to find help. Can you walk?"

Syd nodded and Gage stood, reaching down to help her up. As they stood up they both took their first real look around the area. Although it was fairly lush where they were now, they were only steps away from where the desert began. The morning sun was hot and already their clothes and hair were beginning to dry.

Looking at the sun's location in the sky Gage tried to determine which way was north.

"That way Syd?"

Standing beside her partner, Syd looked up at the sky. "Wow, I think all the stuff Walker has been teaching you is paying off."

"Thank you." Gage beamed at Syd. "Which way do you want to go?"

"I have no idea where we are Gage; I don't have a clue which way we should go."

"Fair enough, how does East sound?"

"It sounds great."

Walking side by side the two Rangers headed in a direction that was more or less easterly. It was a bit of a slow go – Syd limping along with her weakened muscles and swollen ankle; Gage's leg battered and bruised from the beating they had taken in the water as he had struggled to the shore.

About five minutes into their journey Gage felt Syd sneak her hand into his. He immediately laced his fingers with hers, giving her a tight squeeze. When he felt her squeeze back he smiled broadly and suddenly being stuck out in the desert didn't seem so bad.


	5. Chapter 5

They walked for over an hour before they saw their first sign of human activity. It was an old abandoned shack; clearly no-one had lived here for a while. The building itself looked too dangerous to go in but the shadow on one side created was an inviting reprieve from the sun and the partners took the opportunity to sit down and rest.

Letting go of their clasped hands they sat down with their backs to the wall of the adobe structure, too hot and tired to speak. Syd's head actually started lolling and it looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"C'mon Syd." Gage coaxed her. "You can't fall asleep now."

Her eyes still closed Syd sighed "I know."

Just then they heard the most welcome sound in the world – a helicopter. Gage stood up and walked out from under the cover of the adobe roof overhang, waving his arms madly as soon as he identified it as belonging to the Terrell County Sheriff's Department.

The chopper landed not too far from the abandoned hut; there certainly were plenty of wide open spaces for it to do so. As soon as the blades came to a standstill, a mass of blonde hair popped out the door and ran towards him.

"Gage!" Sergeant Nancy Wilding cried. "You're okay!" Before Gage knew what was happening the young woman had launched herself into Gage's arms, planting a large kiss on his lips.

Watching from the shade of the adobe structure Syd watched this overt display of affection and felt tears sting at her dry eyes. What did she care anyways? So what if Gage had kissed her – they had thought they were going to die. She couldn't, wouldn't hold him to the promise that she had felt in his lips during that near death moment. Still Syd bowed her head; she didn't think she could stand to see Gage kiss Nancy.

It took Gage a moment to disentangle himself from Nancy. "Yeah, a few scrapes and bruises but I'll survive." He said as he finally managed to place her at arm's length away from him.

Just then Sergeant Martin Stringer joined them from the helicopter. "Ranger Gage – you okay? We've been looking for you for hours."

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks Martin."

"How's Ranger Cooke?" Oh god Syd, he'd almost forgotten her. She would have seen Nancy throwing herself at him and that kiss...

Gage turned to look at Syd, her head bowed and her hands clasped together. "A little worse for wear but I think she'll be alright." He turned from the Sergeants and began to walk towards her.

"I can get her Ranger Gage." Martin called.

"I've got it." Gage called back, as he hurried his pace towards his partner. He had to let her know that he hadn't wanted Nancy to kiss him, that he hadn't kissed her back.

"Syd." She didn't look up but he saw her hands tremble.

"Syd?" Gage crouched down beside her and tilted her chin up, hating what he saw in her tear moistened eyes. "I didn't kiss her Syd, honestly. She just threw herself at me, I didn't want her to."

"Gage, I don't care who you kiss." Syd gritted her teeth as she lied, doing her best to maintain eye contact.

"Syd, I don't want Nancy Wilding." He cupped her cheek with his hand. "I just want you."

Syd's eyes opened wide at her partner's admission and replied, her voice hushed as if in awe. "You do?"

"Yeah Syd, you're all I've ever wanted."

Syd blinked back tears. Too stunned to speak all she could do was smile at him.

And then Sergeant Nancy Wilding's gasp caused her partner to turn around and look at what she was watching.

Ranger Gage leaned down gently and kissed his beautiful partner lovingly on the lips, and then he picked her up in his arms and tenderly carried her, her head resting against his chest, towards the helicopter.

"Nancy." Martin called. "Let's get the passenger seats ready."

"What? Huh?" Nancy seemed confused for a moment but then her professional training and rationale thought crept in to her conscious mind. "Oh, of course."

She ran towards the chopper and was fully composed by the time Gage and his precious cargo reached the passenger door. She and Martin got Sydney and then Gage settled into their adjoining seats, and then strapped themselves into their own seats and the chopper took off.

Syd took Gage's hand once again, and laying her head on his shoulder she looked out at the countryside as it passed by and thanked God for everything that today had given her.

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"Sergeant Stringer just radioed in – they've found them!" Walker called and the team of men and women gathered around him cheered. "They should be here in about an hour."

Walker walked back inside from the steps of the Terrell County Sheriff's office.

"I knew they'd fine them Ranger Walker." The Sheriff boasted proudly. "They are two of the best young law enforcement officials I have seen around here in a long time."

"Thanks Sheriff, I appreciate all your efforts. Ranger Gage and Ranger Cooke are two of my best as well. Can we arrange for some medical help? They sound as if they are in rough shape."

"I'll call the doctor."

"Thanks." Walker then walked over to a chair in the corner. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better now that I know they're okay." Trivette answered.

"I know - me too." His partner replied. "How's your shoulder?"

"Stiff, sore, painful – you name it. You know what it's like getting shot."

"You're lucky the bullet went straight through."

"I know." Trivette and Walker were both silent for a moment, contemplating how much more serious this whole thing could have been. As it was three of the Rangers had been hurt - who knew that working at an archaeological dig could be so dangerous?

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When the helicopter landed outside the Sheriff's office Walker and the Sheriff ran outside to greet it. Walker reached the rear passenger door as Nancy Wilding opened it, revealing an exhausted but alert Ranger Gage and Ranger Cooke.

"Walker!" Gage smiled, and then sobered. "How's Trivette?"

"He's fine, he's inside. How are you guys?"

"We've been better, but we'll be alright." Syd answered as Gage and Nancy helped her to step down where she leaned on Walker for support. Gage followed her out of the chopper, reaching an arm around her back and helping her to hobble towards the office as the Sheriff spoke to his Sergeants.

Inside Trivette greeted them heartily and the young Ranger's expressed their relief at seeing Trivette again. As the doctor examine them, bandaging the wounds around their wrists and disinfecting the smaller ones on their legs, arms and faces Gage and Sydney relayed all that had happened to them.

"So, what's happened here?" Syd asked.

"We've arrested the members of the smuggling group that we captured at the archaeological site. When they found out that the leader, a Marcos Sanchez – the one who took you Syd, had been killed they wanted to confess. Turns out they were all working for a man in Mexico called Rico Antonio Martinez, who apparently has quite the collection of illegally obtained sacred Native American goods."

"How did he learn about the finds in the first place?"

"It turns out that Neil Ramsey, one of the summer students, was not as innocent as we had thought. He was looking for a quick way to make some money and when the team found the relics he broke into Dr. Reach's office during siesta time and called Martinez."

"He seemed like such a good kid." Gage shook his head. "What a shame."

Walker nodded in agreement. "Yeah, in addition to the criminal charges he is facing he'll be suspended from the university."

"So what about the native group, other than Joe and Andre?"

"They were arrested on the scene after a bit of a struggle. That's how the van you guys were in was able to escape – the vigilantes did all they could to prevent the police vehicles from leaving the area. By the time I got up there the van was long gone."

"No sighting of Joe and Andre?"

"I've alerted the border crossings and sent Sergeant's Wilding and Stringer back out to find them. On foot they won't have gotten far; I feel confident that we'll have them in custody soon."

"So that feeling I had out at the dig site of being watched..." Syd commented.

"Nothing?" Trivette asked.

"Gut feeling about Neil?" Gage suggested.

"Ghosts of the dead trying to tell you something." Walker stated, his voice almost as eerie as Kate's had been when she suggested something similar, and the group looked at him with apprehension. Then he smiled. "Or nothing?"

They laughed.

"Guys, I don't mean to be rude but I really think that I need to get some sleep. I can barely keep my head up anymore."

"Sure Sydney, you should go back to the motel. How about you Gage?"

"You guys don't mind? My body is aching everywhere."

"No, we'll stay here and finish some paperwork, deal with Joe and Andre when they're brought in."

"Thanks Walker, thanks Trivette." Gage and Sydney both smiled their appreciation.

"I'll have someone drive you over." The Sheriff said as the young couple stood up. "Deputy Harris! Drive these two Rangers over to the Desert Star Motel please?"

"Sure thing Sheriff. Rangers?"

Deputy Harris drove Syd and Gage to the motel, where they both practically collapsed once they were inside Room #14.

Several hours later when Trivette and Walker entered the room they found the partners lying curled together on the same bed, still dressed in yesterday's clothes. Gage's arm was stretched out and around Syd, who was sleeping with her head on her partner's shoulder and her arm snaked securely around his waist.

"Look at those two!" Trivette whispered to Walker. "I can't believe Syd is letting Gage share her bed. Think we should wake them up and let her know that we've got another room for her? She doesn't need to share with us anymore."

Walker smiled as Syd murmured in her sleep and snuggled closer to Gage, his arm tightening around her automatically.

"I don't think she minds Trivette." He commented. "I don't think she minds at all."

THE END


End file.
